Lawrence & Co. was a whaling, sealing, and shipping firm (trading on the Atlantic Coast, South American, and European ports). The company began under the personal management of Joseph Lawrence (1788-1872) about 1819 at which time Lawrence moved to New London, Connecticut from Savannah, Georgia. At that time, the firm apparently bore his personal name. The earliest date at which a whaling or sealing vessel was sent out by the firm has not been definitely established, but it appears to have been before 1830. Around 1844 or 1845, Joseph Lawrence retired, handing over the operations of the company to his sons Francis Watson Lawrence and Sebastian Duffy Lawrence and associate Sidney Miner. The firm was then operated under the name Miner, Lawrence & Co. The company changed names again in 1855 when Miner retired from the firm to carry on his own business. The Lawrence brothers continued on by under the name Lawrence & Co. The last vessel managed by them, the schooner CHARLES COLGATE, last sailed in 1887. Thus the Lawrences conducted an active whaling and sealing business for well over fifty years.

Joseph Lawrence (1788-1872) was born in Venice, Italy, on January 12, 1788, but migrated to the United States in 1804. He first settled in Baltimore, Maryland, from which port he followed the sea for a number of years eventually being given the command of a vessel sailing to the East Indies and China. Upon retiring from the sea, he established himself as a merchant in Savannah, Georgia. In 1819 he moved to New London, Connecticut, from which place he sent out whaling, sealing, and commercial vessels for about a quarter of a century. In 1833, he and several other individuals intimately involved in the whaling and sealing business founded the Whaling Bank in New London. Thirty years later it became a national bank under the title of National Whaling Bank, and Sebastian D. Lawrence was elected president. After some twenty-five years of active participation in the business in New London, Joseph Lawrence retired about 1844 or 1845, and turned the business over to two of his sons, both of whom were already associated with the firm, and to Sidney Miner.

Joseph Lawrence married Nancy Woodward Brown (1785-1873) probably in 1819 in New London, Connecticut. They had three children: Joseph Jeremiah, who resided in New York, New York, and commanded vessels sailing mostly to English ports, Francis Watson, and Sebastian Duffy. Joseph Lawrence died in New London on April 5, 1872.

Sidney Miner (1805-1881), the third of three sons of Frederick and Hannah (Wood) Miner, was born in New London, Connecticut, on December 16, 1805. After being educated in the local common schools, he learned the trade of a carpenter and joiner. He was also employed temporarily as a clerk in either a dry-goods or grocery store before entering the employ of Joseph Lawrence. When Lawrence retired from active participation in his business about 1844 or 1845, Miner became a partner with two of Lawrence's sons, and they operated the whaling, sealing, and commercial business under the name of Miner, Lawrence & Co. Miner retired from the firm in 1855 and went into business for himself. In addition to his business activities, Miner held several minor local political offices.

In 1834 Sidney Miner married Mary Ann Ramsdell who died in 1843 at the age of twenty-nine. A year after the death of his first wife, Miner married Lydia Jewett Belcher. Children of the two marriages included Sidney Ramsdell (1836-1855), Mary Francis (b. 1838), Frederick William (1840-1888), Joseph Lawrence (1845-1876), and Lydia Belcher (1853-1854). Sidney Miner died December 29,1881.

Francis Watson Lawrence (1821-1895), the second son of Joseph and Nancy (Brown) Lawrence was born in New London, Connecticut, on November 21, 1821. After attending the local schools and graduating from Yale University in 1840, he entered his father's whaling, sealing, and commercial business. When his father retired four or five years later, Francis W. became a partner in the firm of Miner, Lawrence & Co. In 1855 he and his brother, Sebastian Duffy, founded the firm of Lawrence & Co., which continued to send out whaling and sealing vessels until 1887. His chief responsibility seems to have been the management of the real estate of the firm including Lawrence Hall, the Exchange Place, Union Hall block on Golden Street, store property on Bank Street, and residences in New London. Chronic asthma forced him to retire from active participation in the firm of Lawrence & Co. early in 1895 and caused his death on July 28 of the same year. He never married. During his later years he invested extensively in railroad securities.

Sebastian Duffy Lawrence (1823-1909), the third son of Joseph and Nancy (Brown) Lawrence was born in New London, Connecticut, on December 20, 1823. He was educated in local schools and at Bacon Academy in Colchester, Connecticut, before entering his father's whaling, sealing, and commercial business about 1843. When Joseph Lawrence retired a year or two later, Sebastian D. and his brother Francis W., along with Sidney Miner carried on the business under the name of Miner, Lawrence & Co. After Miner retired in 1855, the Lawrence brothers carried on the business under the name of Lawrence & Co. The last whaling vessel sent out by them was the schooner CHARLES COLGATE in 1887. In addition to his participation in the activities in the family business, Sebastian D. Lawrence served as president of the National Whaling Bank from 1863-1909. He was described in 1905 as a "philanthropist, public-spirited citizen, and one of the wealthiest men of Connecticut." He, like his brother Francis W., did not marry and died on May 28, 1909.